Reporting Fraud, Waste, Abuse, or Mismanagement

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) receives complaints from employees, contractor, or others regarding any:

conduct on the part of an FTC employee that may be a violation of law or regulation;

fraudulent or other illicit activity on the part of any individual or entity contracting with or obtaining a benefit from the FTC; or

evidence of significant waste, abuse or mismanagement within the FTC.

Obligation to Report and Duty to Cooperate with the OIG

FTC employees have an obligation to promptly report misconduct, fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement to the OIG. In addition, FTC employees have a duty to cooperate in audits and investigations conducted by the OIG and to respond to questions posed by an OIG investigator upon being informed that their responses will not be used to incriminate them in a criminal proceeding.

Confidentiality

When reporting waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement or misconduct to the OIG, a complainant may request that his or her identity remain confidential. The OIG has authority to reveal the identity of a complainant if it is deemed unavoidable in the course of an investigation. However, the OIG will honor the confidentiality of complainants to the greatest extent possible.